Open AccessFibrocytes in pulmonary fibrosis: a brief synopsis
Author(s) -
Shyam Maharaj,
Chiko Shimbori,
Martin Kolb
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
european respiratory review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.565
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1600-0617
pISSN - 0905-9180
DOI - 10.1183/09059180.00007713
Subject(s) - fibrocyte , medicine , pulmonary fibrosis , fibrosis , idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis , pathology , mesenchymal stem cell , lung , progenitor cell , lung fibrosis , biomarker , immunology , stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , biochemistry
Fibrocytes are bone marrow-derived, circulating mesenchymal progenitor cells that play a role in several fibrotic disorders, including lung fibrosis. They are attracted to injured tissue by various chemokines. It is likely that fibrocytes play a detrimental role in tissue homeostasis and promote fibrosis, although this paradigm needs further confirmation. This would make fibrocytes a possible novel treatment target for fibrotic disorders. Fibrocytes also have some potential as a biomarker for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other diseases, but the promising preliminary data from single centre studies still require independent validation. Despite several, as yet, unresolved issues, it has become clear that fibrocytes are more than an incidental finding in lung injury and repair, and may hold great promise for the future of IPF management.